Crimping tool



W. R. OVER CRIMPING TOOL Jan. 29, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 4,1961 m \Mwmn w PM m n Ji W. R. OVER CRIMPING TOOL Jan. 29, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 4, 1961 United States Patent G1 sprsnssCRIMPENG TGOL Wrlham R. Gver, Union Deposit, Pa, assignor to AMPIncorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. Filed Dec. 4, 1961,Ser.No. 156,614 Qlaims.(Cl. I-ll8'7) This invention relates to hand tools for crimpingelectrical connectors and particularly to a tool having means forfeeding terminals or connectors in the form of a strip or belt to aposition between the crimping dies.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved manually actuatedhand tool having means for feeding connectors in strip or belt form tothe crimping zone of the tool. A more specific object is to provide ahand tool having a C-shaped head and having a strip or belt feedingmeans which permits feeding of terminals or connectors mounted on arelatively wide belt. A further object is to provide a hand tool withbelt feeding means in which the dies can not be moved relatively towardseach other unless a connector is properly positioned between the dies. Astill further object is to provide a hand tool with belt feeding meanshaving an improved method and means for guiding the belt away from thecrimping zone after terminals or connectors have been removed therefrom.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferredembodiment comprising a hand tool with a G-shaped head and having afixed die and a movable die mounted in the head. An indexable dialmechanism is mounted on the tool in a plane extending parallel to theplane of the C-shaped head for feeding belt or strip containingterminals to position terminalson the belt between the dies. The beltingcommonly used is relatively wide and the terminals are mounted inparallel side-byside relationship on the edge of the belt so that thebelt normally extends into the plane of the tool. In order to remove thebelting from the crimping zone after the terminals have been crimped onthe wires and removed from the belt itself, there is provided adeflector surface which reverses the direction of travel of the beltafter it leaves the dial mechanism and directs it away from the toolhead. The dial is indexed by means of a manually actuated lever disposedin close proximity to the tool handles in a manner such that both theactuating linkage for the dies and the actuating linkage for theindexing mechanism of the dial can be controlled with one hand. Thisarrangement renders the tool convenient in use since it leaves one handof the operator free for manipulation of the wire onto which a terminalis to be crimped.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view or" a tool in accordance with theinvention.

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the indexingmechanism exploded from the body of the tool.

FIGURE 3 is an end view looking from the right in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a section of belting having electricalconnectors secured thereto.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along the lines 55 of FIGURE 3,showing the actuating linkage for the crimping dies of the tool in theclosed position.

FIGURE 6 is a view taken along the lines 6-5 of FIG- URE 3 and;

FIGURE 7 is a view taken along FIGURE 3.

Referring first to FIGURE 4, it is now known to the art to mountelectrical connectors or terminals T on a belt in side-by-side parallelrelationship by means of a strip S. The belt has evenly spacedperforations P on the opposite side thereof from the connectors so thatit the lines 7--7 of estates Patented ran. as, was

can be fed by means of an indexing wheel or similar device to a positionbetween a pair of crimping dies as disclosed in application Serial No.805,433 filed April 10, 1959, by Martin L. Klingler et al. for BeltedTerminal Crimping Tool, now Patent No. 3,037,545, issued June 5, 1962.The present invention relates to an improved manually actuated hand toolfor crimping connectors and having a means for feeding the belt toposition the leading connector thereon between the crimping dies.

A preferred embodiment as shown in FIGURES 1-3 comprises a tool having agenerally C-shaped head 2 and a lower handle it the head portion 2 beingformed of a pair of parallel plates and having an upper arm 4 and alower arm 6. The extensions 8 of the two plates on the lower armconstitute one handle of the tool and are advantageously covered with ahand grip. A block 12 (FIGURE 5) is slida-bly mounted between the plates2 by means of a pair of guide plates 14 secured to the block on eachside by a pin 16 and a pin 44-. These guide plates each have upperextensions 18 which are slotted at 22 to permit their movement past apin 24 which extends between the plates 2. Lower extensions 20 of theguide plates are similarly slotted at 23 to permit their move ment pasta pin 23 which also extends between the frame plates 2. This arrangementis such that the block 12 is, in fact, guided along its path of motionby the slots 22, 23 and the pins 24, 23.

A hand lever 31 for actuating the tool comprises a pair of plates 3i?secured in spaced apart side-by-side relationship by a block 26 and afastener 32 which extends through each of the plates 3% and the block26. Additionally, it will be seen from FIGURE 5 that the pin 24 extendsthrough both of the plates 3% and the block to secure this block betweenthe handle lever plates. The handle lever thus extends between the frameplates 2 and is pivoted to the frame plates for movement towards andaway from the handle 1%. Block 26- has a contoured cam surface 29 whichengages a roller 3% mounted between ears 36 which extend from one link33 of a toggle mechanism. This link 38 is pivotally mounted to the frameby means of pin 23 and is pivoted at it; to the other link of the togglelinkage. Link 42 is in turn pivotally connected at 44 to block 12. Aspring 46 engages at one end a hook on the end or" link 38 and isanchored to a pin in the handle Ill at its opposite end so that thetoggle mechanism is normally broken. It should be mentioned that inFIGURE 5 the dies are shown in the closed position although normally thehandles will be spaced apart as in FIGURE 1 and the toggle will bebroken. In use, upon movement of the handle 31 towards the handle 36',the contoured cam surface engages roller 34 and straightens the togglelinkage to drive block 12 upwardly. Advantageously, a ratchet device 48in accordance with US. Patent 2,618,993 is provided to ensure completeclosure of the handles and therefore complete crimping of an electricalterminal as explained in the cited patent.

A movable crimping die 54 is mounted on an L-shaped bracket 52 which isin turn secured to a plate 5i). This plate extends downwardly beside theblock 12 and is secured or clamped thereto by means of a fastener asshown. The movable die 54 does not rest directly on the upper surface ofblock 12 but rather upon the head 5d of a set screw so that the shutheight of the tool can be adjusted merely by rotation of this set screw.Plate 5d extends upwardly and into a slot or groove in a block 58mounted between the upper arms 4 of the tool. A tie plate 5'1 is securedto the front of block 58 and extends downwardly between the framemembers 2. Beneath the lower surface of block 58 this tie plate Ell hasan L-shaped bracket secured thereto which mounts the upper or fixed diees.

It will be apparent from FIGURES 1 and 2 that the terminal or connectormust be disposed with its axis extending transversely of the planes ofthe plates 2. The mechanism for feeding connectors in belt form toposition the leading connector on the belt between these dies will nowbe described.

The feeding mechanism is mounted in a bracket having a web 68 whichextends parallel to the plates 2, a top flange 70 which extends inwardlytowards the tool and over the block 58 and is clamped thereto by afastener, and a lower inwardly directed flange 72. The fiange 72 has afoot portion which bears against a plate 73 which, in turn, bearsagainst the outside surface of the adjacent frame plate 2. 'The lowerend of the bracket is held in position by fastener 23 which waspreviously identified as the lower pivotal axis as for the link 38. Thesprocket wheel 78 is rotatably mounted on a stationary stub shaft 76secured in the web 68 of the bracket and has evenly spaced teeth 80 onits periphery for engagement with the perforations P of the belt. wheelhas evenly spaced notches 82. A traveler plate 84 is nested within thesprocket wheel and rotatably mounted on stub shaft 76. This sprocketwheel has a chordal section 86 cut away on its face which is againstBetween the teeth the sprocket the sprocket and a pawl 88 is mounted inthis cut-out section on a pivot pin 90. The end 92 of the pawl is urgedinto the notches in the sprocket wheel by means of'a torsion spring 914on a pin 96 which extends through the traveler plate. The end 92 of thepawl isso shaped that when the traveler plate is rotated in acounterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 7, the sprocket wheel isalso rotated in a counterclockwise direction but the traveler plate canrotate clockwise independently of the sprocket wheel. A locking pawl 98is mounted in the lower portion of the bracket on a pin 100 whichextends from the upper end of plate 73. This locking pawl is urged intothe notches in the sprocket wheel byrmeans of a torsion spring 102 andits end is so shaped that it permits counterclockwise motion of thesprocket wheel but prevents clockwise motion.

The traveler wheel 'is oscillated by means of a lever 1&4 pivotallymounted on the pin 109 and having at its upper end, as viewed in FIGURE6, a notch 106 into which extends the projecting end of the pin 90. Thislever is normally biased in a clockwise direction to the position ofFIGURE 6 by means of a torsion spring 105 on pin 10% which reactsagainst a pin 107 on the surface of the lever. The upperend of the leverhas a circular recess 108 and a generally triangular projection 110 adjacent thereto. This recess and projection cooperate with a pin 111 onL-shaped die holder 52 which pin extends rearwardly towards the travelerwheel and into the recess 168. This pin prevents movement of the lowerdie towards the fixed die if the indexing mechanism is not in theposition of FIGURE 6 as is described below.

Referring particularly to FIGURE 6, it is necessary to direct thebelting B away from the tool body after it has passed the crimping diesfor the reason that'this belting is'normally relatively wide and extendsinto the plane of the main frame members 2. Since the belting can not bedisposed of by directing it leftwardly as viewed in FIGURE 1, there isprovided in the preferred embodiment a deflector surface 114, 116 on aninwardly directed flange 112 of the web :68. The section 11 4 of thisdeflector surface is generally tangent to the periphery of the sprocketwheel at a location immediately past the crimping dies. The surfacereverses in direction and guides the belting along a generally U-shapedpath which extends along the edge of the gap in the adjacent framemember as is shown in FTGURE 6 so that it leaves the indexing mechanismabove sprocket wheel and generally parallel to the incoming belting.

It is desirable to loosely clamp the belting against the surface of thesprocket wheel and to' this end there is provided a clamping member 118mounted on a pin which extends through a sleeve 12% to a lever 122pivoted at v1241p the web 68. This, lever is normally biased in a mannersuch that the clamping member is urged against the surface of thesprocket wheel by means of a spring 126.

In use, when it is desired to position an uncrimped terminal between thecrimping dies, the operator need only swing the lever 104 in acounterclockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 6. This operation can beperformed with one finger while the operator holds the tool in one hand.Ordinarily, when the lever 104 is swung in a counterclockwise direction,the traveller plate and the sprocket wheel will be rotated through anarc sufficient to advance the next adjacent terminal in the belt to aposition between the crimping dies. The lever will then return to itsinitial starting position under the influence of a spring 105. When theindexing lever 104 is in its normal position, the block 12 and themovable die 54 can move upwardly but if, for any reason, the travellerwheel does not return to its initial. position, the pin 111 will engagethe edge of the recess 108 and return the traveller wheel to its normalposition. This pin also serves to prevent accidental rotation of thelever 104 and the sprocket wheel after the dies have started to movetowards each other. The terminal between the dies can not, therefore, bemoved-out of its proper position by accidental movement of the lever104.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art andvarious apparently difierent modifications and embodiments may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forthin the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by wayof illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended tobe defined in the following claims when viewed in their properperspective against the prior art.

-I claim:

1. A hand tool for crimping electrical connectors onto the ends of wirescomprising, a. C-shaped frame member having a fixed crimping die securedto one arm thereof and having a movable crimping die reciprocabletowards and away from said fixed crimping die, means for feedingconnectors in belt form to a position between said dies comprising asprocket wheel mounted in a plane extending parallel to said framemember, means for indexing said sprocket thereby to feed said belttowards said frame member and position the leading connector thereonbetween said dies, and means for reversing the direction of travel ofsaid belt after it passes said dies thereby to remove said belt from thecrimping zone of said tool.

2. A hand tool for crimping electrical connectors onto the ends of wirescomprising, a, C-shaped frame member having a fixed crimping die securedto one arm thereof and having a movable crimping die reciprocabletowards and away from said fixed die, said dies being oriented to crimpan electrical connector having its axis extending normally of the planeof said frame member, means for feeding connectors in belt form to aposition between said dies comprising, a sprocket wheel for engagementwith said belt, said sprocket wheel being secured to said O- shapedframe member for rotation about an axis extending normally of the planeof said frame whereby, upon indexing of said sprocket said belt is fedbetween the arms of said C-shaped frame, member and the leadingconnector thereon is positioned between said dies, and a curveddeflecting surface between said arms, said' deflecting surface beingtangent tosaid sprocket wheel at one end and curving from its point oftangency in the direction opposite to the direction of belt feed by saidsprocket Wheelthereby to guide the end portion of said belt away fromsaid frame member.

3. A hand tool for crimping electrical connectors onto the ends of wirescomprising, a C-shaped frame member having a fixed crimping die securedto one arm. thereof and having a. movable crimping die reciprocabletowards and away from said fixed die, said dies being oriented to crimpan electrical connector having its axis' extending normally of the.plane ofvsaid frame member,; means for feeding connectors .in belt formto .a position:

between said dies comprising, a sprocket wheel for engagement with saidbelt, said sprocket wheel being secured to said C-shaped frame memberfor rotation about an axis extending normally to the plane of said framewhereby, upon indexing of said sprocket said belt is fed between thearms of said C-shaped frame and the leading connector thereon ispositioned between said dies, a curved deflecting surface between saidarms, said surface being substantially tangent to said sprocket wheel ata location between said dies and said frame, and said surface extendingarcuately in the direction opposite to the direction of belt feed bysaid sprocket wheel whereby, upon indexing of said sprocket, the portionof said belt which has been fed past said dies is guided away from saidframe member.

4. A hand tool for crimping electrical connectors onto the ends of wirescomprising, a C-shaped frame member having a fixed crimping die securedto one arm thereof and having a movable crimping die reciprocabletowards and away from said fixed crimping die, a pair of handles movablerelatively towards each other to actuate said movable die, means forfeeding connectors in belt form to a position between said diescomprising a sprocket wheel mounted in a plane extending parallel tosaid frame member, an indexing lever for said sprocket wheel extendingparallel to and offset from said handles, said indexing lever beingmovable substantially parallel to the direction of movement of saidhandles whereby, said lever is digitally movable while said tool is heldin one hand thereby to feed said belt towards said frame member andposition the leading connector thereon between said dies, and means forreversing the direction of travel of said belt after it passes said diesthereby to remove said belt from the crimping zone of said tool.

5. A tool as set forth in claim 4 including means on said movable dieengageable with said lever when said lever is not in its normal positionthereby to prevent movement of said movable die when a connector is notproperly positioned.

No references cited.

1. A HAND TOOL FOR CRIMPING ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS ONTO THE ENDS OF WIRESCOMPRISING, A C-SHAPED FRAME MEMBER HAVING A FIXED CRIMPING DIE SECUREDTO ONE ARM THEREOF AND HAVING A MOVABLE CRIMPING DIE RECIPROCABLETOWARDS AND AWAY FROM SAID FIXED CRIMPING DIE, MEANS FOR FEEDINGCONNECTORS IN BELT FORM TO A POSITION BETWEEN SAID DIES COMPRISING ASPROCKET WHEEL MOUNTED IN A PLANE EXTENDING PARALLEL TO SAID FRAMEMEMBER, MEANS FOR INDEXING SAID SPROCKET THEREBY TO FEED SAID BELTTOWARDS SAID FRAME MEMBER AND POSITION THE LEADING CONNECTOR THEREON BE-